Heretofore, it has been well known to use blister packs for, among other things, the housing of pharmaceutical pills and liquids. Typically, blister packs consist of a series of blisters formed into a sheet of substantially impermeable clear plastic. The open end of the blister is generally covered with a thin metal foil or peel-off film that may be punctured or removed to access the pill inside the blister.
While the known blister packs work in many respects, problems have arisen in their use. First, known blister packs, similar to the use of a bottle of pills, do not provide for an easy way for consumers to track whether they have taken the necessary medication. Accordingly, if consumers cannot remember if they took the necessary medication, they will either have to forego taking a pill and risk the possibility of not taking the medication, or take another pill and risk the possibility of taking too much of the medication.
Second, because of the nature of the contents of many blister packs, especially pills, there is a need to make the blister packs substantially childproof. In that regard, in blister packs that include separate individual-pill blister packs that are kiss-cut to each other, it is known to have a protective layer over the foil to prevent the pills from being dispensed prior to the removal of the protective layer. The protective layer may generally be removed by using a fingernail to try and peel back the protective layer or by breaking off a removable corner piece of the blister pack and then peeling off the layer. Alternatively, the blister may be protected by a protective layer that includes a perforation in the middle of one of the sides that is designed to facilitate the tearing of the protective layer to access the pill. Such known embodiments are often very difficult to open by hand and often result in jagged or sharp edges. Because a large market for blister packs is senior citizens, who may experience diminished manual dexterity or hand pain from arthritis or the like, a manufacturer must take into account that it should be easy to operate and open, especially for senior citizens. Therefore, there is a need to develop a blister pack that is substantially tamper and tear proof, childproof and senior-friendly.